Building on its reputation as a leader in sustainable, green printing, Label Impressions, a mid-sized label printer in California has renewed its commitment to carbon-free printing with partner Carbonfund.org for a fifth straight year.

Label Impressions has had the distinction of being the first label and packaging printer in the US to become both carbon neutral and FSC certified and has always led the way in sustainable labeling. With newly installed package printing equipment, that commitment has gone beyond labeling to the printing and production of flexible packaging.

Over the past five years, Label Impressions' carbon offset donations to Carbonfund.org have neutralized almost 785,000 pounds of greenhouse gases.

That's equivalent to the carbon dioxide sequestered by planting 9000 trees and growing them for ten years. Label Impressions' donations to Carbonfund.org have supported carbon emissions reduction, clean air and renewable energy technology, and forest preservation projects around the world.

Despite significant growth, the company has worked to limit its carbon footprint through aggressive 'lean initiatives', investments in waste reducing technology and equipment, and a continued commitment to reducing and offsetting carbon emissions.

"The production of a wide variety of flexible pouch materials has proven challenging with respect to maintaining a sustainable operation," says company president and CEO Jeff Salisbury. "We've leaned up our processes and equipment and continue working on more sustainable, eco-friendly packaging materials, but we know that true carbon neutrality is only possible through offsetting. We remain committed to the mantra taught to us by Carbonfund.org in those early days, "Reduce what you can, offset what you can't(tm)." Salisbury adds.

Label Impressions' 2015 sustainable operational enhancements include:

- 2015 installation of automated equipment on its widest (17") flexible packaging press allowing for up at a 15% reduction in material waste

- Q2, 2015 installation of a whole house trim removal system estimated to reduce 'scrap' /landfill waste by 6%

- Installation of an 'intelligent battery storage system' designed to reduce energy consumption by up to 20%

This year will mark Dolphin Blue’s 5th anniversary as a Carbonfree® Business Partner. The staff at Dolphin Blue is proud and honored to continue offsetting operational emissions with Carbonfund.org and has decided to take it a step further by purchasing an additional 36 metric tonnes of carbon offsets to neutralize projected annual operating emissions. Including these latest offsets purchased, Dolphin Blue has neutralized almost 718,000 pounds of greenhouse gases, equivalent to the carbon dioxide sequestered by planting 8350 tree seedlings and growing them for ten years.

Dolphin Blue has come a long way these past 5 years, by expanding their business offerings to include all-green, no harm products for household cleaning, lawn and garden care, pet care, children’s toys and body care that are produced with a minimal carbon emissions. Every product that Dolphin Blue carries is made from post-consumer recycled content, requiring less energy to produce, and is made in the USA, which means fewer emissions, compared to products made from virgin materials and imported from other countries.

Dolphin Blue supports initiatives that foster education and awareness in issues of sustainability, energy alternatives, organic agriculture and reducing waste. Dolphin Blue wants everyone who visits their website to be educated on why they are purchasing these items and the difference buying one eco-friendly product can make.

Dolphin Blue also is honored to be associated with organizations such as B Corporation, Green Chamber of Commerce, EPA Green Power Partner, Chlorine Free Products Association, North Texas Clean Air Coalition, Green Source DFW, and the Voluntary Renewable Energy Coalition.

For over 20 years, Dolphin Blue has continued to conduct business always respecting the natural world in which we live, and they ask their customers and other businesses to do the same. That’s why Dolphin Blue is encouraging other B Corps to go above and beyond by offsetting their companies’ annual operational emissions and educating their customers on the importance of reducing their individual carbon footprint.

Earthbound Expeditions believes that travel is more than a race to check off sites and monuments; that when done right – and responsibly - travel is perhaps the very best way to learn about different cultures and people without damaging their lands or the environment.

Through Earthbound’s proud partnership with Carbonfund.org, Earthbounders are actively reducing their carbon footprint and helping to ensure that the planet’s many wonders are preserved for future generations. The Carbonfund.org motto, “reduce what you can; offset what you can’t,” fits perfectly with Earthbound Expeditions’ long established philosophy of supporting locally-owned businesses, promoting education and embracing the concept of “slow” travel.

By using Carbonfund.org’s easy-to-use carbon calculator, Earthbound Expeditions is able to determine the size of your carbon footprint for any specific trip. Earthbound then sets aside a portion of the trip proceeds and purchases carbon credits that support renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects.

Over its five years as a Carbonfree® Business Partner, Earthbound Expeditions has neutralized over 7 million pounds of greenhouse gases, the same quantity of emissions as sequestered by planting 82,500 tree seedlings and growing them for ten years.

Earthbound is committed to supporting environmental education, community businesses and providing travelers with a one-of-a-kind, authentic travel experience while offsetting guests’ carbon footprint. Earthbounders stay in locally owned hotels, utilize the talents of locally trained lecturers, dine in small, family-owned establishments and support projects like the Alamar Organopónico Co-op farm in Cuba and the Greening Project in South Africa. In addition to regularly scheduled trips, Earthbound Expeditions also offers custom, hand-crafted overseas adventures for schools, universities, garden clubs, families and public radio stations.

Travel is often a life-changing experience. When you join Earthbound Expeditions, you can be confident that you are supporting local businesses, workers, schools and communities, while knowing that the carbon emissions generated by your travel are responsibly neutralized through the partnership between Earthbound Expeditions and Carbonfund.org.

The New Year is a great time for individuals and businesses to reevaluate their recycling efforts and overall carbon footprint and seek to reduce their impact every day. Currently less than 35% of US households recycle. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides great information about how to increase recycling efforts in your everyday living, and how your efforts will help your community.

Paper Culture, a Carbonfree® Business Partner for the past seven years, and online retailer of personalized cards, gifts and wall décor, evaluates and optimizes reductions in their carbon footprint on a regular basis. Through its seven-year participation in the Carbonfree® Business Partnership, Paper Culture has neutralized operational emissions equivalent to the carbon dioxide sequestered by planting 12,615 tree seedlings, then growing those trees for ten years.

They make sure that all of their business practices fall under their four pillars for sustainable operations (aka T.R.E.E):

1. Trees – Plant a tree with every order

2. Responsibility – Offer only eco-friendly products

3. Ethos – Operate sustainable business practices

4. Education – Help through community outreach and teaching

After evaluating the packaging in which products were sent to customers, the folks at Paper Culture felt there was an opportunity to engage and reinforce the importance of recycling and the power of planting one single tree. With most of their customers being parents with young kids, they also wanted it to find an interactive approach.

As a result, they came up with the ReversibleBox. The outside of the box is printed with eco-friendly water-based inks and is much more than just pretty typography; it's a reminder of the true impact of trees, from the air we breathe to the natural habitat they provide. On the reverse side of the box is a tree pattern with the recommendation that customers reuse the box the next time they need to send a package, store old photos or any other use they can imagine. In addition, the box contains tree seed packets with planting instructions.

Since the company plants a tree with every order, Paper Culture wanted their customers to be able to plant a tree of their own so they could enjoy and teach the benefits to the next generation.

Paper Culture CEO & Co-founder Christopher Wu says, "We are in a fortunate position to be able to connect to the future generations through our customers. We loved the idea of parents and their kids planting trees together, which creates both a teaching moment and the appreciation for one of earth's finest gifts."

Since the inception in 2009, Paper Culture has been providing modern and eco-friendly products, including personalized holiday cards, birth announcements, birthday invitations, gifts and wall decor. Carbonfund.org appreciates Paper Culture's ongoing commitment to reducing and neutralizing its operational emissions through its support of Carbonfund.org's reforestation projects around the world.

It takes a special company to carry through a long-term commitment to monitor and manage its social, environmental and financial impacts of conducting business. Grounds for Change is a family owned and operated coffee roasting business located in the Pacific Northwest. Grounds for Change roasts 100% Fair Trade, Organic coffee in small batches to ensure that you receive the freshest coffee possible, while remaining committed to social justice and environmental stewardship.

In 2008, Grounds for Change helped Carbonfund.org pioneer the Certified Carbonfree® Products program by completing a thorough “cradle-to-grave” Life Cycle Assessment and Greenhouse Gases inventory report for its roasted coffees. It is a program that fits with Grounds for Change’s overall mission to achieve the highest possible standards in quality, fairness and responsibility throughout its operation and in each product it produces.

By measuring the carbon footprint associated with each pound of roasted coffee, then neutralizing those carbon emissions through quarterly donations to Carbonfund.org, supporting reforestation and avoided deforestation projects around the world, Grounds for Change offers a truly carbon neutral roasted coffee to environmentally conscious consumers.

The company’s commitment to carbon offsetting goes far beyond its coffee roasting operations. Every step in the coffee chain has been scrutinized, from a coffee plant in Peru all the way to a bag of roasted coffee in the customer’s hands. The details of harvest, transportation, roasting, packaging and shipping to customers have all been included in the rigorous carbon footprint analysis.

Grounds for Change focuses on operating as a green business and has received a Washington award for Outstanding Achievement in Sustainability. As a member of 1% for the Planet, Grounds for Change donates well over 1% of total annual sales to various environmental organizations, including Carbonfund.org. In addition to offering 100% Fair Trade and Organic Certified coffee, most Grounds for Change coffees are shade grown, which means the possibility of a real livelihood for coffee growers, a breath of fresh air for the planet, zero net carbon emissions from crop to cup and healthy forests for migratory songbirds.

This holiday season, Grounds for Change is offering sales on coffee gift baskets, special winter seasonal coffee blends, and their Coffee of the Month club. With their commitments to Fair Trade, Organic and Carbonfree® Certified coffees, Grounds for Change offers premier choices for environmentally-savvy coffee connoisseurs.

Voxmicro, a leading technology group with prime focus in radio-frequency components, platforms and other network solutions has adopted the AIRETOS™ brand for its OEM and RF modular designs and wireless platforms.

With the introduction of its new brand, VoxMicro is also reemphasizing its pledge to the environmental cause. VoxMicro made a commitment to “zero out” the carbon footprint of its logistics and IT operations, and to provide carbon neutral shipping. Since 2008, VoxMicro has achieved these goals through its Carbonfree® Business Partnership program with Carbonfund.org. By supporting energy efficiency projects that produce measurable carbon emission reductions, VoxMicro neutralizes its own operational emissions.

AIRETOS™ is a celebration of those efforts aiming to represent ethical and environmental ways for designing, manufacturing and operating exciting new technologies in the domain of RF Connectivity and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Moving forward, VoxMicro will maintain its commitment to reduce the environmental impact of its products and will be staying at the forefront of active green rebellion for sustainability and preservation. VoxMicro believes it is important to protect our environment and will continue to search for new avenues that protect the environment without sacrificing product and service performance. VoxMicro LTD Group is on the forefront of pursuing operational sustainability and environmental preservation, and Carbonfund.org is proud to partner in these efforts.

“Our mission includes converting large facilities over to LED lighting thereby making a significant reduction in energy usage Nationwide,” says Harry Zuker, CEO of uSave LED. “Offsetting our own carbon footprint with Carbonfund.org credits shows our commitment to the environment.”

uSave LED supplies high quality and highest rated state-of-the-art energy saving LED lighting to commercial property owners and tenants nationwide. In addition to offsetting its operational carbon footprint, uSave LED’s corporate office uses 100% LED lighting, its staff keeps business travel to a minimum and maintains a mostly paperless office.

uSave LED offers 100% financing programs, direct-purchase and self-installation, or their turnkey solutions including installation. Results vary based on electrical costs and products chosen, but clients may anticipate a payback on investment in 1-3 years. All products are certified by UL, CE, Energy Star Design Light Consortium or similar certification laboratories.

A commitment to providing environmentally-responsible lighting solutions while mitigating its own operational emissions puts uSave LED in the front of its industry for environmental leadership. Carbonfund.org is happy to welcome uSave LED to the Carbonfree® Business Partnership.

Corporate Risk Systems Limited (CRS), a UK-based Risk Management Consultancy, provides consultancy and training solutions across Health, Safety and Environmental sectors and supports many international clients in insurance markets, the public sector, and commercial organizations.

As a responsible organization offering environmental and health and safety support to its clients, CRS recognizes the need for all organizations to reduce their environmental impact through implementation of effective carbon emissions and waste reduction policies. To address its own operational emissions, CRS developed a Carbon Reduction and Offset Policy, using Carbonfund.org to offset its entire annual corporate emissions and make Corporate Risk Systems Carbonfree®.

"It’s down to each individual and organization to accept its environmental impact, if sustainable development is to turn from a concept into reality,” says Richard Ball, Head of Environment for CRS. “Climate Change is one of the most serious threats facing the world today, and it is all our responsibility to reduce carbon emissions at source where possible, and offset our residual carbon footprint."

Over the past eight years, CRS has neutralized almost 1.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the emissions produced by combusting almost 80,000 gallons of gasoline.

Corporate Risk Systems Limited is a forward-thinking and innovative HSE training and consultancy group, ISO 9001 certified and Carbonfree®. Their auditing, training and consulting services have benefitted clients in over 60 countries on six continents, and their commitment to neutralizing their own operational emissions establishes CRS as a clear leader in corporate risk consultancy and sustainability leadership.

Care To Click is an online community where people's small actions can make a big impact. The organization’s goal is to make the world a better place for everyone, which includes protecting our environment for future generations.

By joining the Carbonfree® Small Business Partnership program with Carbonfund.org, Care To Click has neutralized almost 80,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. This reduces the company’s operational emissions and makes it a more sustainable organization.

“We owe it to future generations to leave the world a better place than we found it,” explains Tracilyn Scala, Founder of Care To Click. “Carbonfund.org has made doing so their mission and deserve everyone's support.”

Care To Click helps raise money for environmentally conscious groups, including Carbonfund.org. By taking a few simple actions on the Care To Click website, like donating free clicks and tweets, printing useful coupons and shopping online using Care To Click's “Care To Search” browser extension, users prompt donations to charitable organizations.

Care To Click encourages everyone to take action, and recognizes that these actions have an impact. As a Carbonfree® Small Business Partner, Care To Click has taken the lead in neutralizing its own operational emissions.

Tandus Centiva, A Tarkett Company, offers a unique line of flooring products as a true fit-for-purpose approach to enhance building spaces for learning, working, healing and living. An important component of its product line is offering Certified Carbonfree® flooring products to its customers, through a program developed by Carbonfund.org.

The company utilizes Cradle to Cradle principals to strategically design and manufacture its products. This closed-loop approach focuses on four key areas: the choice of good materials in the design of products, the responsible use of resources to minimize impacts on the environment, the well-being of people during product use and closed loop recycling at the end-of-use to produce new products with good materials.

The Certified Carbonfree® Product program relies upon a full cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment of each registered product, to determine the entire carbon footprint associated with each square yard of flooring material. Tandus Centiva has renewed its Certified Carbonfree® Product Registration again this year for seven of its flooring products.

Tandus Centiva uses a multifaceted approach to reduce the carbon footprint of its operations and products including the reduction of energy, water and solid waste, the increased use of recycled material and renewable energy, along with a continued emphasis on closed loop recycling and post-consumer reclamation of its products. These strategies along with the Certified Carbonfree® Product options places Tandus Centiva among the sustainability leaders in the flooring industry.